Juel Taylor | |
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| Education | University of Florida University of Southern California |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2012–present |
Juel Taylor is an American director and screenwriter. He wrote Creed II (2018) and Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) with his writing partner Tony Rettenmaier. [1] Taylor and Rettenmaier wrote the movie They Cloned Tyrone (2023), which is also Taylor's first feature film as a director. [2] He has also directed several TV episodes and a short film.
Taylor largely based the fictional neighborhood in They Cloned Tyrone on the area where he grew up. [1] [2]
Taylor was initially interested in studying video game design when he attended college at the University of Florida. [1] His first introduction to making movies was a music video he created for his college's digital arts program. [1] Taylor then studied film as a graduate student at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, where he met Rettenmaier. [2]
In 2017, Taylor co-directed Actors Anonymous, [3] the feature film adaptation of James Franco's novel of the same name, Actors Anonymous , starring James Franco, Eric Roberts, Emma Rigby, Scott Haze, Jake Robbins, Carmen Argenziano, and Horatio Sanz. The film screened at Cinequest [4] and the Newport Beach Film Festival. [5]
Taylor co-wrote Creed II (2018) alongside Sylvester Stallone, featuring Michael B. Jordan and directed by Steve Caple Jr. He also co-wrote Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) with his writing partner Tony Rettenmaier, starring LeBron James and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. [6]
Taylor's feature directorial debut, They Cloned Tyrone , starring John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Paris, and Kiefer Sutherland, released on Netflix in 2023. [7] He co-wrote the screenplay with Tony Rettenmaier. [8]
Taylor cites questions around blame and responsibility and experiences with friends in unfortunate circumstances as the inspiration for They Cloned Tyrone. [9] Taylor and Rettenmaier initially pitched They Cloned Tyrone in 2018, not yet having written the script and while working on other films. [2] The draft changed through the pitching process, eventually leading to They Cloned Tyrone being produced as a Netflix feature film. [10] In the editing process, Taylor cited Guillermo del Toro for his help on several scenes. [10]